Amnesty Urges Algeria To Reject Death Penalty Expansion After Deadly Wildfires

Amnesty International has urged Algeria to abandon plans to expand the death penalty to include arson following devastating wildfires that killed at least 12 people and injured 54 others. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune ordered changes to the law and also proposed capital punishment for child abductors and abusers. Amnesty said 20 people had been arrested over alleged arson and subversion, raising concerns about possible effects on opposition groups. Algeria has not carried out an execution in more than 30 years.

AMNESTY CHALLENGES ALGERIA'S DEATH PENALTY PLANS

Amnesty International has called on Algeria to abandon plans to expand the use of the death penalty following President Abdelmadjid Tebboune's move to make deliberately starting forest fires a capital offence.
The human rights organisation issued its appeal on Tuesday, urging Algerian authorities to halt the proposed changes and warning against resuming executions.
Algeria has not carried out an execution for more than three decades, although courts can still impose death sentences.

DEADLY WILDFIRES TRIGGER NEW PUSH

The proposal followed devastating wildfires that swept through parts of northeastern Algeria last month.
At least 12 people were killed and 54 others injured in the fires, while several villages in the Kabylie region and surrounding areas were badly affected.
The scale of the destruction prompted the government to take a tougher position against suspected arson.
Tebboune instructed Justice Minister Lotfi Boudjemaa to amend the country's laws to include arson among offences punishable by death.
The proposed changes would also cover people convicted of abducting or abusing children.

PRESIDENT SAYS CONVICTS CAN APPEAL

Tebboune has said people sentenced to death would retain the right to appeal before any execution could take place.
The proposal would nevertheless represent a significant change in Algeria's long-standing practice of not carrying out executions.
The country has maintained a de facto moratorium on executions for more than 30 years.

AMNESTY RAISES CONCERNS OVER OPPOSITION

Amnesty International has also accused Algerian authorities of using the proposed expansion of capital punishment in a way that could affect political opposition groups.
The organisation said 20 people were arrested between July 26 and September 10 in connection with investigations into alleged arson and subversion.
Subversion is a broad offence that can involve attempts to undermine state security and, depending on the circumstances, can be treated as a terrorism-related charge.
Amnesty said the arrests raised concerns about how the government's response to the wildfires could affect political opponents.
The Algerian government has not accepted Amnesty's interpretation of the arrests.

KABYLIE HAS FACED PREVIOUS CRACKDOWNS

The latest controversy has revived memories of the devastating wildfires that hit Algeria in 2021.
Those fires killed about 90 people and caused extensive damage in the Kabylie region.
Following the disaster, Algerian authorities prosecuted numerous people on terrorism-related charges and blamed the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylie, known as MAK.
The Algerian government classifies MAK as a terrorist organisation.
MAK has rejected the government's accusations and has described its movement as seeking greater self-determination for the Kabylie region.

AMNESTY SAYS ROOT CAUSES ALSO NEED ATTENTION

Amnesty has argued that expanding the death penalty does not address the wider causes of Algeria's increasingly destructive wildfires.
The organisation called on authorities to focus on preventing future disasters, improving emergency preparedness and addressing environmental and climate-related risks.
It said accountability for deaths caused by wildfires should not be limited to prosecuting people suspected of deliberately starting fires.
The debate comes as Algeria and other countries in the Mediterranean region face increasingly severe heat, drought and wildfire conditions.

DEATH PENALTY REMAINS A CONTENTIOUS ISSUE

The proposed changes have reopened a wider debate over capital punishment in Algeria.
Although death sentences remain available under Algerian law, the country has not executed anyone since the early 1990s.
Human rights organisations have repeatedly called on Algeria to formally abolish the death penalty rather than maintaining a moratorium.
The government, meanwhile, has presented tougher penalties as part of its response to serious crimes, particularly those that threaten lives or public safety.

WILDFIRE DAMAGE LEAVES COMMUNITIES VULNERABLE

Beyond the legal debate, the latest fires have left affected communities dealing with deaths, injuries and the destruction of homes and livelihoods.
For residents of Kabylie and other northeastern areas, the threat of wildfires is compounded by dry conditions and extreme heat.
The challenge facing authorities is therefore twofold: investigating whether individual fires were deliberately started while also strengthening measures to prevent natural or accidental fires from becoming major disasters.

DEBATE NOW MOVES TO PARLIAMENT AND COURTS

Any permanent change to Algeria's criminal law would have to pass through the country's legal and legislative process.
The government's proposal is likely to remain controversial because it combines a response to a deadly environmental disaster with the possible expansion of capital punishment.
As authorities investigate those suspected of involvement in the fires, rights groups are calling for due process and warning that accusations of arson or subversion should be supported by credible evidence.
For Algeria, the debate now extends beyond punishment for alleged arsonists to questions about human rights, political freedoms, environmental protection and how the country should respond to increasingly destructive wildfires.